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A review by yourwordsmyink
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
4.0
To be honest with you, I was initially going to give this book 4 stars. But while writing this review (and reading some other reviews) I decided to lower the rating to 3.5. I've also decided not to CAWPILE this book, and to just write where my feelings take me.
Writing
Let's talk about writing first. I won't say that I'm a particular fan of Schwab's work. This is only the second book I've read by her, and one thing stands out to me: she writes beautifully, but it's all repetitive. The first 100 pages of Addie are beautiful. The next 300 are more of the same. Eventually, I got bored with hearing about Addie's freckles and how quickly time moves on. Trust me, every millennial is constantly in the throes of existential crisis. We know the dread.
For me, writing works best when it's simple and direct. I've never been a fan of flowery writing or over-used descriptions. Considering the length of this book, nothing of note really happens on-page. We hear about Addie's adventures, but we hardly ever see them play out. It's just 400 pages of existential angst.
Characters
That being said, Addie and Henry are both very relatable characters in this instance. I too feel the march of time breathing down my neck, and I mourn the lives that I will not get to live. Blink and suddenly you're 24 and jobless. Blink again and you're halfway to the grave (millenials will know the feeling).
I liked Henry well enough, and his character motivations were solid. But he felt more like a background character to Addie. A means to an end. I didn't feel like she actually loved him.
I saw Addie as a very self-centred character. Always looking for ways to make her mark, and effectively using people to do it. Instead of her telling the stories of those history has truly forgotten, she only ensures that she is remembered. I'm not sure what Schwab was going for here, but I expected more. You have a 300-year-old woman with infinite memory, yet she doesn't use that memory at all.
It makes me think of all the people history has forgotten or erased (especially women, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people) and it makes me think Schwab missed an opportunity to have Addie play a part in remembering them.
Read my FULL review at http://www.yourwordsmyink.com/the-invisible-life-of-addie-larue-book-review/
Writing
Let's talk about writing first. I won't say that I'm a particular fan of Schwab's work. This is only the second book I've read by her, and one thing stands out to me: she writes beautifully, but it's all repetitive. The first 100 pages of Addie are beautiful. The next 300 are more of the same. Eventually, I got bored with hearing about Addie's freckles and how quickly time moves on. Trust me, every millennial is constantly in the throes of existential crisis. We know the dread.
For me, writing works best when it's simple and direct. I've never been a fan of flowery writing or over-used descriptions. Considering the length of this book, nothing of note really happens on-page. We hear about Addie's adventures, but we hardly ever see them play out. It's just 400 pages of existential angst.
Characters
That being said, Addie and Henry are both very relatable characters in this instance. I too feel the march of time breathing down my neck, and I mourn the lives that I will not get to live. Blink and suddenly you're 24 and jobless. Blink again and you're halfway to the grave (millenials will know the feeling).
I liked Henry well enough, and his character motivations were solid. But he felt more like a background character to Addie. A means to an end. I didn't feel like she actually loved him.
I saw Addie as a very self-centred character. Always looking for ways to make her mark, and effectively using people to do it. Instead of her telling the stories of those history has truly forgotten, she only ensures that she is remembered. I'm not sure what Schwab was going for here, but I expected more. You have a 300-year-old woman with infinite memory, yet she doesn't use that memory at all.
It makes me think of all the people history has forgotten or erased (especially women, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people) and it makes me think Schwab missed an opportunity to have Addie play a part in remembering them.
Read my FULL review at http://www.yourwordsmyink.com/the-invisible-life-of-addie-larue-book-review/